Education sucks

At least that's the message being sent by the Australian Government and Opposition to the Aussie taxpayer by cutting $2.3 billion from the sector's budget.  

But University funding cuts sound like a good idea don't they? Everyone knows academics are overpaid and underworked and it's not as if the cuts will affect everyday Aussies is it?

I'll mainly focus on teaching in this post, and what can happen when the best and brightest aren't consistently and actively encouraged to enrol in education courses and aren't supported when they graduate. 

Some teaching graduates, who have taken out a debt to pay their uni fees, are employed on short term contracts or can only get part time work. Those who'd love to leave home and show their independence are unable to do so on these types of contracts, no job security leaves them feeling insecure and vulnerable.  They're unable to feeel confident to sign a lease on a flat let alone think of buying a home. Even worse, they come to see themselves as part time teachers, employed to plug a gap and with no real commitment to a school which appears not to value them. Is knowing that you'll start off your career with a debt and job insecurity, as well as negative public perception, a way to attract excellent candidates into what should argueably be one of the most respected professions? 

In Australia we already have the situation where mature, good, experienced secondary teachers are not having their contracts extended, simply because they're more expensive to employ than a recent graduate. This is one of the things which happens when funding is taken away from the secondary education sector - get rid of the experienced professional to hire the less expensive teacher to enable the school to balance an ever tightening budget. Unfortunately it also leaves schools without a strong, diverse pool of experienced teachers to mentor the recent graduates. 

In universities there's already increasing pressure to find cost savings; this happens by cutting academic jobs, reducing face to face teaching time and course options, and increasing class sizes. We know so much about learning difficulties, brain maturity, how to engage disengaged young people so they feel valued. We understand the ramifications of keeping students in school and working on meaningful and worthwhile projects. We know how society benefits when education works well. Yet education is consistently undermined, not only at university, but throughout all levels. 

The outcome will be that young people from disadvantaged or rural backgrounds are less likely to enter, not only teaching, but other professions as well, if they're not adequately supported and when there is uncertainty surrounding courses and funding. It's not a wise way to attract the best and brightest into any profession. We end up with a less diverse group of professionals across a range of sectors and this does affect us all. Some groups become over represented, others under-represented - this has repercussions in local communities as expectations lower in response to continuing uncertainty and erosion of support.

Yesterday I saw a video showing an articulate, intelligent young man reacting strongly to an apparently lacklustre, lazy teacher. 

I wrote the following on G+ in response to the footage:
"what breaks my heart is that scenarios like this are all too common. It's easy to criticise the teacher (and rightly so sometimes) but we don't support them - its possible to graduate from uni with a huge debt and only get offered part time work or a one year contract. That's not the way to attract the best and brightest. You have to be incredibly passionate about a job to remain keen when you're treated like a temporary and expendable product. Experienced, mature teachers can be passed over in favour of recent graduates who are cheap to employ. The result is what happens in this footage, intelligent, disengaged, pissed off kids and adults in front of them posing as teachers.

...  our kids are our most precious asset and too often we treat them like shit. The government condones and encourages scenarios like this by constantly squeezing the education sector as if it's nothing more than a sausage factory that could be more easily and cheaply be outsourced to the lowest bidder." 

Meanwhile mining companies are being subsidised to the tune of around
$2 BILLION. There are loud wails of distress, outrage and well orchestrated and highly publicised panic, when there's any suggestion of cutting off this obscene level of funding to incredibly wealthy companies where the profits often go offshore. Personally I find this scenario obscene. Our taxes are supporting mining companies, some of which are owned by overseas interests, rather than going to support our own children and the sector which we trust to educate them. 

What is our overall vision for Australia? At present it certainly looks like both the Australian Government and Opposition values supporting multinational companies financially, far more than valuing and promoting the education of our young people.

Photo from East Side Gallery - Berlin 2009

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The power of words -

 and the effects can last a lifetime.

I would like to give full credit to the artist/author of this powerful, thought provoking shot. If anyone knows where it came from please let me know.

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Deja vu - heart shaped?

Only one post!?

For brevity, I'll share a Drabble; it originally appeared on February 17 2011. My selection criteria? Short because it's a blog hop, but also showing my interest in social justice and careers.

Predatory employers suck the life out of the young and vulnerable, secure in the supreme right of their greed and avarice.

Say it’s for the good of society. That it represents progress and the might of the free world.

Democracy in action!

But really they love the feeling of power and all that that means.

Betray the trust of the innocent; exploit and manipulate vulnerable employees.

Desperate for work, children will take anything,

even washing bloated hearts in a pool, wearing ill fitting uniforms and inadequate wings.

Fixed smiles belie inner sadness.

They unwittingly support

the rampant commercialism

of

love.

*

This Drabble first appeared in The Burrow Valentine's feature 17 Feb 2011.  Thanks to Burrower's, Books & Balderdash for hosting.

A Drabble is a story told in 100 words. No more, no less.

Picture from Wikimedia commons.

On the 14th December I managed to whittle the year down to choose 12 13 favourite posts, and I thought that was hard! You can go here for a selection of themes, from social justice and workplace communication, to the healing process after being the target of ongoing bullying. 

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The pain of bullying up close

I've written and deleted, and written and deleted, but my words aren't adequate, so I'll take away my megaphone and soapbox and go and calm down.

What would you say to Jonah?
What would he hear?
What would you say to the perpetrators and onlookers?
What would they hear?
What would you say to the adults around?
What would they hear?
Can any words help?

Justin Bieber meets Casey Heynes - the target of bullying attacks at school

 

Justin Bieber isn't someone I'd usually associate with  shedding light on the insidious issue of schoolyard bullying.  I'd assumed he was a teenager being manipulated and exploited by greedy entertainment types determined to get what they could from his popularity before he got used up and spat out without ceremony. However, it appears I've been proven wrong and he's highlighted at a concert in Melbourne, Australia that he's prepared to take a very public stand on an issue that has such a damaging negative effect on so many children.

Bieber heard about a boy in Australia, Casey Heynes, who'd been the target of serial bullying at school for far too many years. The bullies had taken a video of one of the episodes, presumable to enjoy later. In the clip, we see Casey being harassed by the bullies, no onlookers supporting him, and he snaps.

Heynes was invited to meet Bieber and appear on stage with him. It's interesting how the tables have turned. The target has received worldwide acclaim, been interviewed and appeared on stage with Justin Bieber. The bullies?  I wonder what has happened with them ...

Bieber later reveals that he had been bullied at school. It is well documented that serial bullying at school  can have a negative impact for life. The target rarely achieves their expected grades, and this can continue for life. As an adult, the person who has been bullied at school can have flashbacks, and doubt their ability to achieve. The brain goes into defensive mode and is simply unable to function as smoothly as it could.

I wouldn't expect Bieber to analyse or articulate the complexities of serial bullying, but I'm so grateful for him using his extremely high profile to highlight the issue. 

Maybe, just maybe those in power in the education system will stop, think and adopt, across the board,  one of the outstanding programmes that educates everyone to be aware of schoolyard bullying, to acknowledge that it is OUR problem. To accept that together we need to tackle bullying, including every person who steps into the schoolyard, from the cleaners, canteen staff, librarians, administrative staff and teachers, but crucially the student bystanders.  We need to teach the Casey's in our communities how to respond effectively and assertively at the first instance of bullying, and to get the onlookers involved to prevent recurrent episodes. 

Right now, I'm eating Humble Pie.  Justin Bieber certainly appears to be much more than I gave him credit for, and with all the bad and sad news this week, month, year, I'm grateful.

Thankyou Corey for sharing this clip with me.

Further information on bullying at school here. For schools, teachers and other interested parties: CASSE (Creating a Safe, Supportive Environment - link here) has an inexpensive conference in May 2011 in Melbourne, link here. Another reputable programme by Twemlow, Sacco and Twemlow here.

T. Targets & Teachers. Workplace bullying

Target: a person, object or place selected as the aim of an attack.

Targets of bullying go to work to get their job done and are rarely interested in office politics or conflict, they're not interested in power plays. They may have high moral values, integrity, a strong sense of fair play and dislike arguments and aggression. The target often has a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue and negotiation. Many are reluctant to make a formal complaint against the bully and would prefer to forgive and get on with the job at hand. They are often extremely strong individuals who are able to withstand serial bullying for years.

The target may be vulnerable (see V) is some way, for instance need to pay a high mortgage or may be a sole parent living off one wage. They may need to stay in a work environment to cover expenses, even though they may be experiencing daily torment and feel locked in, as if there is no escape. They are not weak because they stay.

The target  may be artistic, imaginative, creative, academically above average, or may be different in some way. Many targets are caring and empathetic, forgive easily and are unwilling to resort to the lying and deceptive tactics of their tormentor. They are often criticised by the bully as being soft and overly sensitive, but in reality are showing a mature ability to respond to the concerns of others gently, with respect, dignity, consideration and tolerance. In addition, the target may show a strong sense of independence and self reliance, they have little need to be part of the 'inner clique'.

The bully on the other hand will generally try to recruit others into the 'chosen' group. They are malicious, callous, and uncaring about the needs of others. The bully manager may refer to his or her management style as 'tough', 'rough and tumble', 'strong', or 'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen' and respond with impatience, irritability and aggression when this style is questioned or when he is referred for management mentoring.

East Side Gallery. Berlin. 2009.

Teachers as targets (link to information for Queensland teachers who are being bullied. Some of this information is relevant for others)

Teachers who are independent, self-reliant, self-motivated, imaginative, innovative, and full of ideas may be targeted by others in the profession, particularly if they have an envious, malicious, bullying department head. The bully boss may be threatened by the competence and popularity of this staff member.

Sadly, many excellent teachers who are keenly aware of the difficulties faced by their caring, gentle students - the loner, the nerd, the learning disabled, the child who is a bit different in some way - may be hounded out of the profession. The hierarchy appears afraid of the very qualities that make them excellent teachers, and often does little to support them in the face of ongoing, relentless bullying.

Sometimes these very teachers have been able to protect the student targets from bullying by other students and staff. When they are "let go" the students are again vulnerable.

Teachers as bullies
Teachers who are serial bullies may also delight in targeting vulnerable students as well as other staff. They are devious, cunning, vicious, undermining, cruel and vindictive when they have found their target.  These malicious teachers not only restrict the child's access to enjoyable activities as punishment, but devise humiliating, belittling punishments on a daily basis for the target, possibly making fun of a mild physical deformity or a learning difficulty. They make cruel and callous criticism of the child's work, calling them 'dummy', 'failure' or bringing the classes attention to the simple fact that the child is different is some way.

This constant undermining and bludgeoning of a fragile self esteem can affect the child for life. Many adults have told me that whenever they try to prove that they can do something challenging, the face of their teacher tormentor and the onlooking class appears in front of them, and they hear the belittling, undermining, cruel and malicious comments, even 50 years after they've left school. Many never achieve their potential.

East Side Gallery. Berlin. 2009.

"You'll never amount to anything, I don't know why you try", "What a loser", these and other cruel phrases prevent the student from learning and actually encourage the child to go into a protective mode and should never be used in the guise of "It'll make him try harder".

Uncontrolled shouting is excruciatingly painful for a child with certain hearing difficulties. They cover their ears to prevent the pain, which increases the rage of the out of control teacher. Students in a classroom with a teacher like this will have difficulty learning.

Teacher Training
Teacher trainers please take note: all trainee teachers should be explicitly taught how to manage a classroom effectively so all students can learn, this must include thorough training in effective management of child bullies. Every primary teacher trainee should be given thorough training in how to teach mathematics, reading and spelling to all students including those with learning difficulties. Sending trainee and new primary teachers out without these vital basic skills is appalling, and that it is happening in 2011 is .... (words fail me)...

The importance of tackling bullying in Primary schools is well documented, and makes obvious sense. Twemlow, Fonagy & Sacco have written some excellent papers that I hope to discuss at a later date.

Further information on bullying at school here. For schools, teachers and other interested parties: CASSE (Creating a Safe Supportive Environment) has an inexpensive conference in May 2011 in Melbourne, link here.

What is your experience as a student, teacher or target? 

Here tomorrow: Underestimate & Unrelenting


There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites. If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.

Over at jumpingaground I'm spending the month Drabbling using alliteration, often with an environmental theme.
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Q. Qualities we instil in our children. Workplace bullying

This is my post for the letter Q in the A-Z blogging challenge 2011.


Bullying at school
Let's think for a moment about the qualities we aim to instil in our children. The ones we're proud of them for exhibiting - things like honesty, kindness, caring for the underdog and trying to resolve conflict with negotiation. In general, parents, society and schools (with a few exceptions) encourage children not to resort to violence.

As a society we say we value these qualities. And yet conversely when our child is the target of bullying in the playground, many parents demand of the same child "stand up for yourself". It's a very mixed message for any youngster. Equally perplexing to many children is the bullying which seems to be celebrated on the sport field and in business and the political areas.

Often we encourage children to "ignore them, they'll go away if you don't react".  But if the little tacker is being hounded day in, day out with sly and not so sly kicks, pinches and punches as well as verbal abuse,  ignoring the bully, or attempting to defuse the situation simply isn't going to work, particularly if school back up is ineffective. The bully is generally devious and sneaky enough to present a smiling, innocent face to any adult who happens on the event. They manipulate the situation so the target suffers doubly.

As parents we often don't know how to respond anyway, particularly if the school is weak and avoiding their responsibility for providing a safe environment. See CASSE (Creating A Safe Supportive Environment) to receive e-news and information on how schools can help raise awareness to counteract bullying. There are also links to academic papers by Twemlow, Fonagy & Sacco. (Click on the tab "Bullying always happens in a social context" or "Disconnected youth are a high risk to schools".)

Bullying needs to be nipped in the bud at the very first instance. We need to celebrate schools that tackle the issue head on. Schools that excuse, condone or ignore the behaviour need to be encouraged to follow the best examples. Every child has a right to attend school to learn, each child has a right not to be bullied, harassed or assaulted by either students OR staff.

All children should be taught how to identify bullying tactics. We must not accept school yard bullying as an inevitable part of schooling. It doesn't toughen anyone up, has detrimental affects on a child's capacity to learn, they have more days off school which in turn means parents need to take time off work to care for the bullied child. Ignoring thuggish behaviour is in effect condoning it. Children should not be expected to handle these damaging situations alone. They need competent support and reliable mature assistance.

The bully may appear to have friends; sadly others often tag along due to fear of being targeted themselves. The bully may be envious of your child and their very good qualities, their humanity, their compassion, their academic achievements, envious of their loving home and caring environment which may be sorely lacking in their own life.

Children shouldn't be expected to cope with bullying alone.

The damage from childhood bullying can affect people for life.  As an adult, children who have been targets of serial bullying may be uncertain and apologetic, they often question their abilities and competence and fail to achieve without intensive support. (Ricky is an example of someone who struggled academically after years of serial bullying at home and school.)

Some adults who have been bullied as children lack a sense of security and trust in others. They haven't been taught appropriate strategies to counteract the unwanted, unasked for attention, and go on to be bullied in the workplace as adults. In addition, schoolyard bullies who haven't been held accountable for their unacceptable, thuggish behaviour as children, often (but not always) go on to be adult bullies, often rising to positions of considerable power at work. In these instances, the damaging effects can undermine reasonable requests for corporations to take responsibility for their actions, affecting health, families and the lives of people far beyond the immediate work environment.

Depending on the cause of the bullying, some adults bullies can be mentored in better, more mature management techniques, and discover the new skills create a happier more productive workforce.

Qualities of the schoolyard bully

For the qualities that childhood bullies display see Bullying (April 2, 2011).

Further information on bullying at school here. For schools, teachers and other interested parties: CASSE has an inexpensive conference in May 2011 in Melbourne, link here. Further programmes here


Here tomorrow: R - Responsibility


There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. The Facebook group eBossWatch regularly posts links to articles and discussions about workplace bullying. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites. If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.


Over at jumpingaground I'm spending the month Drabbling using alliteration, often with an environmental theme.
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H: Harassment & Health - Bullying

Harassment covers a wide range of offensive behaviour. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, In the legal sense, it is behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing. Sexual harassment refers to persistent and unwanted sexual advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very disadvantageous to the victim. (Wikipedia) 

The bully will often humiliate the target, sometimes publicly. I'm sure each country has their own devastating cases, so I won't go into local details. Enough to say the consequences of bullying can be fatal.

Being bullied is like feeling
you're inside a cage
with no means of escape.

Health: Serial bullying is known to have long term affects on your health and it has been hypothesised that the result of long term stress may lead to brain damage. Targets may take increased sick leave, become forgetful, hyper-vigilant, lose enthusiasm for life in general, become confused and lack motivation.

Sleep may become extremely broken with nightmares becoming frequent. Constant fatigue is the result, leading to lack of reserves when ill-health strikes. Flashbacks can occur resulting in panic attacks. There may be a feeling of having been betrayed, leaving the bullied person with feelings of worthlessness and vulnerability.

Employers who encourage, expect or tolerate stressful (or bullying) regimes where employees have little control over their environment (such as police, military, emergency services etc) or where victims are blamed rather than supported are contributing to the poor health of its workforce.  As I mentioned previously they may be violating the right of workers to a safe workplace.

It doesn't help to "kick 'em while they're down"

Legislation was introduced in Australia this week (April 2011) to tackle the problem and those found guilty could face jail. News article here.

In the same week, the Australian defence forces have another reported incident of serious bullying of a female recruit, and a teacher was withdrawn from class for abusing children in his class.

I wonder how many schools that teacher has been in, and how many covered up and simply moved him on rather than take appropriate action. How many parents didn't listen or believe their child? How many parents are intimidated by the education system and lack the confidence to complain? How many parents who find the courage and strength to complain are told "We'll take care of this. Trust us"? ... and nothing happens.

The Lucky Country?
Or a place that needs to tackle some serious endemic problems

Here tomorrow: Intimidation & International Students


How to do a hyperlink signature here


There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites. If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.

Over at jumpingaground I'm spending the month Drabbling using alliteration, mostly with a climate related theme.
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B is for Bullying. A - Z Blogging Challenge

How to recognize Bullying behaviour at work. 


Many of these examples can be a part of everyday work life.  They can be described as bullying when there is a consistent, sustained pattern over time that isn't altered when the bully is alerted to the unacceptable nature of the comment or behaviour.

• Abusive, insulting or offensive language
• Behaviour or language that frightens, humiliates, belittles or degrades, including yelled criticism
• Belittling your contributions 
• Constant nit-picking and faultfinding, attempts to undermine
• Displaying material that is degrading or offending
• Distorting your comments
• Deadlines changed without informing you
• Degrading comments
• Enlisting others to question and undermine your contributions, being Excluded
• Falsifying documents purported to be from you, constant Fault finding
• Going to a supervisor to cast doubts on your work
• Hiring another less qualified person to squeeze you out
• Information may be passed on too late for action
• Ignoring and Isolating
• Intruding on a person’s space by pestering, spying or tampering with their personal effects or work equipment
• Jokes at your expense that aren't funny
• Leave is often refused
• Making threats either veiled or subtly, being given Menial tasks
• Misrepresentation of your ideas or contributions, being marginalized
• Never being adequately supported
• Overloading with work, may be given menial tasks, or constant night and weekend shifts
• your work may be Plagiarised
• Pestering
• Questioning your motives, work habits, reliability, emotional state
• Refusal to acknowledge your contribution
• Responsibilities may be increased without adequate remuneration or recognition
• Spreading gossip, rumours and innuendo of a malicious nature
• Being Singled out and treated differently
• Teasing or regularly making you the brunt of practical jokes
• Threats that if you complain, disciplinary action will be taken
• Trivializing your contributions
• Tampering with your personal effects
• Undermining your position, status, worth and value. Unjustified criticism
• Unreasonable expectations
• Unfair treatment in relation to accessing workplace entitlements, such as leave or training
• using Value laden comments to discredit you
• Work equipment may be hidden, locked away. You may need to grovel to gain access to it
• Yelling, in private, or in front of others

How to recognise bullying behaviour at school:

• may be academically below average
• aggressive, physically strong, willing to resort to violence
• attention-seeking 
• thrives on control and dominance 
• cowardly
• poor communication skills 
• disrespectful and contemptuous of other children and adults
• divisive, dysfunctional, disruptive
• may have a dysfunctional home life
• lacks empathy
• envious
• exploits others
• needs to impress
• immature in behaviour and emotions
• insecure
• lies frequently
• needs to be respected but can't distinguish between "respect" and "fear"
• does not accept responsibility
• poor social skills
• low self-esteem
• thinks it fun to torment and hurt children who are less physically strong 
• uncaring

Tomorrow, I'll look at the Climate in which the bully operates and touch on the Courage needed to stand up to a bully.

The book Working with Mean Girls by Meredith fuller is an excellent resource for both men and women experiencing bullying at work. There are also useful tips for students. Review here.

There are many outstanding resources on line. A couple I find useful are Bullying. No way! an Australian resource for teachers and students, and a UK site Bully On Line. The Facebook group eBossWatch (here) regularly posts links to articles and information on workplace bullying. This is in no way an exhaustive list, and each country will no doubt have equally good or more relevant websites.


If you're being bullied please seek advice from a professional health care practitioner experienced in this area.


Over at jumping aground I'm spending the month playing with alliteration.
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